Charon-class light frigate
Halo: The Essential Visual Guide – page 76 |width= |height= |engine=Naoto Technologies: V4/L-DFR |slipspace drive=Series IV CODEN/SFTE – Main |shield gen=None |hull= Titanium-A battleplate |countermeasures = |armament=*Mark II, Light Coil – 83B6R3/MAC *M58 Archer Missile pods (50 pods) *M870 Rampart 50mm Point Defense Guns (4) *M4093 Hyperion Nuclear Delivery System (3 silos) |complement=*Marines **ODSTs *D96-TCE Albatross dropships *M313 Elephant HRVs *M274 Ultra-Light All-Terrain Vehicles *Pelican dropships **D77-TC, D77H-TCI or D79H-TC *GA-TL1 Longsword-class Interceptor *M808B Main Battle Tanks *M12 Light Reconnaissance Vehicles **M12G1 Light Anti-Armor Vehicle **M831 Troop Transport *AV-14 Attack VTOLs *Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicles (12) *Clarion spy drones (3) |role=Protection of larger fleet ships |affiliation=UNSC Navy |era=*Human-Covenant war *Post-war era }} The Charon-class light frigate is a UNSC frigate class suited for fleet escort duties and troop deployment. It has the largest complement of vehicles for land support, but less armament than the , making it best suited for troop support rather than fleet support. Class History Human-Covenant war First Battle of Harvest The and the would be apart of the CMA team that would investigate Harvest. The Vostok was destroyed.Halo: The Fall of Reach, pages 96-99 Battle of Algolis An Unnamed frigate would evacuate personnel and civilians from Algolis.Halo Legends: Prototype Fall of Reach The would participate in the Fall of Reach.Halo: Reach, Overlook Radio Conversation Battle of Earth The was one of the ships that would perish, battling the Covenant in orbit.Halo 3: ODST level Prepare To Drop The , the UNSC Aegis Fate, and a third unknown ship would bombard the Artifact before it activated.Halo 3 level The Storm Battle of Installation 00 The UNSC Forward Unto Dawn and the UNSC Aegis Fate would eventually fight on the Ark.Halo 3 level Floodgate The Forward Unto Dawn would be severed in half trying to escape the Ark.Halo 3 level Halo Design Details Function The Charon-class frigate is meant mainly for fleet and/or planetary defense, such as Earth's home fleet. They are typically used en masse, but are still rather weak, compared to most Covenant warships. Sometimes it is a ground assault support ship and troop transport, while still having fleet support capabilities. However, usually they are only powerful in numbers. Dimensions The Charon-class frigates are light frigates, at 490 metres (1,607 ft) long. It has a height of 139 metres (457 ft). Its width is 156 metres (510 ft). Propulsion The frigates use thermonuclear fusion reactors that use deuterium for fuel. The engines use the energy from this to create thrust out of the exhausts on the frigates. There are four exhausts on frigates, two large, and two small. It is assumed the frigates have high maneuverability in all dimensions, the assumption being supported by the forward maneuvering thrusters. Also, they possess the ability to simply hover over land. This was seen on Installation 00. It is possible the UNSC used captured Covenant made antigravity mechanism, but unlikely. Crew A frigate's crew is not necessarily very big, but they can still carry standard personnel. The bridge alone requires 30 members, and of course the rest of the ship still needs a deck and technical crew. Frigates also carry detachments of marines and pilots, and of course Orbital Drop Shock Troopers. Overall, the personnel of a frigate can reach the low thousands. The Charon-class frigate has 32 escape pods, and each can carry 3 men. This allows 96 personnel to escape at a time via escape pods. Dropships provide other evacuation methods. Superstructure The armor of a Charon-class frigate is poor compared to is larger cousins or counterparts such as the Destroyer. It has only 60 cm of Titanium-A armor on the main forward section, however the armor increases significantly on the engine nacelles, close to a meter thick. This is one of the reasons why frigates are better in numbers, but their real strength lies in their speed and maneuverability, as frigates can be much faster than other UNSC ships. The overall structure helps it make the trip in and out of atmosphere safely. These frigates also have hard points on the top so another ship could come along, dock with it, and carry the crippled ship away. Layout The bridge is located near the back of the MAC shaft. Its interior consists of the Captain's chair behind the two main consoles, and several other consoles behind them. The bridge has been noted to require a crew of about 30 people. The four bridge stations are Navigation, Operations, Weapons, and Communications. A frigate has up to 12 SOEIV bays near the rear for the deployment of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers. The bottom has a cargo bay that is about as wide as a Sabre fighter. The front half of the frigate also has multiple cargo holds on each side and at the front of these structures are the forward maneuvering thrusters. Ships of the Line Trivia *This class of frigate is likely named after Pluto's moon, Charon, which was itself named for Charon of Greek mythology, who ferried the dead to the underworld. Gallery Overviews and Size Comparisons H3 UNSC Forward Unto Dawn.png|The left side of the Forward Unto Dawn. File:UNSC Longsword and Frigate siz comaprisson.jpg|As shown here, Longsword fighters are not too large to be carried by frigates. Exterior Shots File:ArabiaVostok.png| and being destroyed at the First Battle of Harvest. File:10203554-Full.jpg|The Archer pods of a typical Charon-class light frigate. File:UNSC Frigate HEV drop hatches.jpg|HEV SOEIV hatches (along the center) of a Charon-class light frigate. File:DawnBase.jpg|A preview of a frigate lowering its cargo bay for the insertion of ground forces and vehicles onto the battlefield. File:Mac.jpg|A preview of a frigate firing a round from its Magnetic Accelerator Cannon. Halo3_-_FrigateAssault.png|Frigates attacking the Forerunner dreadnought. Ffg-127.png|A destroyed frigate over New Mombasa. File:Halo_4_Teaser_20110912-08335507.jpg|UNSC Forward unto Dawn falling towards Requiem. Interior Shots Fud bridge.JPG|The Bridge Sources Category:UNSC Frigate